


Resurrect the Sun

by StallingGem



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Dark Magic, Dark Rey, F/M, Korriban (Star Wars), Post-Canon, Romance, SWTOR elements, Self Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:22:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26133406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StallingGem/pseuds/StallingGem
Summary: Five years of pain and grief brought Rey here. To the dead planet of Korriban and into the heart of the Valley of the Dark Lords. If she has to give up the last dregs of her humanity to have what she deserves then so be it.akaThe au in which Rey goes very dark and puts the spirit of Ben Solo into his clone hidden in the Sith Academy on Korriban.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	Resurrect the Sun

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by this [comic](https://alexiela.tumblr.com/post/627186712679006208/tros-alternate-ending) and had to write something with clone!ben!
> 
> I do have five more chapters outlined but this can stand as a one-shot for now and I'll probably add more later.
> 
> CW: suicidal ideation (mentioning this to be safe), self-harm, a little bit of gore, and violence.

She took a deep breath and placed a hand on the glowing bacta tank. Five years of pain and rebuilding and utter loneliness would mean  _ something.  _ Only she had the power to do this--to bring someone back from the dead. This act would be nothing like the ridiculous idea her decaying grandfather had or even the fantastical ideas that his master concocted. This is something only she could do. Something only half of the  _ Dyad _ could perform and have it stick--a power like life itself.

A finger traced over the outline of the face she knew so well. His smile forever burned into her memory. She wondered if this body’s smile would be the same. She wondered if any part of him would truly be the same. Rey only discovered his body a year ago, well not discovered, but was led to it. It wasn’t even his body--his was cruelly taken by the Force--this body was a copy. Here in the dilapidated Sith academy of Korriban, a husk with the face of Ben Solo existed. 

Rey was prepared to lose it all, unlike before. She abandoned everything she knew for him. If she failed this time then at least she could finally join him wherever his spirit lingers. The already dim room darkened further as she heard the click of heeled boots enter the room. 

“The time is nigh, my dear sister.” The silky voice of her mentor filled the room.

Rey bristled at the woman’s voice. Once at the start of her journey, Kalis Xhol was comfort--now she was the final loose thread. Rey turned to look at her _sister,_ who was shrouded in layers of dark silks and leather. Her pitch-black hair was intricately pinned to her head in order to show her pronounced features: high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and ghastly acid burn on the left side of her face. Her pale features were further accentuated by the dark kohl around her golden eyes. She is true Sith and she made sure everyone knew it.

“Are the components prepared?”Rey asked.

Kalis scoffed.

“I would not be here if they were not. I know how you like your time with him.”

Rey hated how Kalis spoke to her. As if she were a stupid child--as if she were lesser. She was neither. She was ordained by the Force to be part of the Dyad. She was more than Kalis could ever be--more than anyone could ever be. Fear kept Rey alive most of her life, but today she felt none. Today she would choose what she wanted. Today she would choose her life or her happiness.

“Good.” Rey turned back to the man floating in the bacta tank .

She looked to the clone of Ben’s sleeping face. She would see his eyes again and how soft they were when he held her. She would see the wrinkles around his eyes and the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled--and those crooked teeth. Rey smiled faintly at the memory of the saddest moment in her life. Strange how she thought the saddest moment is when she was the most happy.

_ No more. _

She pressed a hand on the glass right over where his heart would be.

_ Be with me. _

Rey turned to leave the chamber holding the memory of her lost love. Kalis took her by the arm and a wicked smile grew on her beautiful features. 

“Such power we will see here tonight!” Kalis says. “His Lordship would have been so proud to see that you found the right path.”   
  


Kalis was positively ecstatic as she led Rey through the dirty halls. Ancient red banners of the Sith Empire litter the floor along with countless other pieces of debris. Pieces of droid models, old and new, are pushed into piles in shadowed corners to be sorted through. 

The Sith Academy housed the true remnants of the sith and the cult surrounding her grandfather from Exegol. The academy is in no way a home or alive. The remainders that dwell on Korriban are wraiths and long to be buried in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Rey traitorously thought that she would gladly give them the reprieve they desire, but there is always the small bit of light that stopped her. As she and Kalis grew closer to her chamber’s--incidentally the nicest part of the academy--Rey caught sight of who could effectively be called her handmaiden. 

Nazra was a young girl. Rey guessed she could be in her late teens. She was a hopeless stereotype for a Twi’lek with Sith ties. She was tall and well built like she hadn’t missed a meal all her life in the cult of the Sith.  _ Like she was bred for battle,  _ Rey thought. She also had scarred maroon skin and black markings spiraling down her lekku. As intimidating as Nazra looked she was actually soft-spoken and gentle. She liked art though she would never admit it. Nazra bowed her head as the two women approached. 

“Lady Xhol. Lady Rey,” she said and opened the door.

Kalis burst through the door and gathered the ceremonial garb for the momentous occasion. Rey and Nazra followed closely behind. Nazra began to assist Rey in removing the armor that she had taken to wearing in the past months. 

_ Never again will I be so careless. _

As the pieces of metal and leather fall away they are replaced by a gauzy red fabric that is wound around her chest and similar flowing pants. Nazra paints ancient runes on her arms and exposed skin. Rey’s hair had gotten long as the years progressed; the three buns she had worn for so long no longer benefit her. Nazra moved to begin to braid the long locks back, but was harshly dismissed by Kalis. Nazra looked to Rey--a knowing look--and bowed and left.

Kalis sighs and begins to plait her hair together.

“This year has gone by so quickly, my dear,” Kalis says. “Normally the days drag on and on as we have had nothing to occupy or time with.”

Rey just listened to her sister’s musing, keeping her face blank.

“Then I found you--my family! The one that achieved so much.” 

Rey flinched at a particularly rough tug of her hair. Kalis is a jealous woman.

“You have brought a much needed,” Kalis paused. “Vibrancy to the Valley of the Dark Lords. It is a wonder it took so long for you to make it here.”

Rey’s stomach drops at that.

_ It’s because I never wanted to be here. _

Another tug at her head stopped her traitorous thoughts. She had to be prepared for whatever was to come tonight. Kalis droned on about the lengthy preparations for the ritual while Rey looked in the mirror. It struck her at how much she had changed in the past five years. She no longer looks like the girl from Jakku and she truly no longer looks like the Jedi she had been. The most terrifying change had been her eyes. The shades of brown and greens were replaced with a rich glowing gold.

Kalis tied off the final braid and went to fetch the cape to pull the ritual look all together. Kalis held up a hefty amount of fabric in the shade of blood and roughly cut pieces of crystal served as the clasp. Rey stood and wrapped around her shoulders and drew up the hood.

Kalis looked so proud. Rey didn’t trust it one bit. She went to pull something from under her bed. She pulled out a chest and opened it to find something she hadn’t held in years. The lightsaber she had been unable to bleed. The last physical trace of her humanity. She clipped it to the side of her pants. She knew what she must do with it.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Once at the sight of the ritual--a grand hall in the center of the academy--Rey witnessed all the citizens were in attendance. At the center sat the tank housing Ben and the components for the spell of resurrection.

_ Would this even work? He has been gone for so long and the bond is broken and tattered.  _

A low rhythmic chanting began from the crowd. Rey went over the requirements in her head.

_ A piece of the body. _

The shirt that Ben had worn lay neatly folded on a pedestal.

_ A piece of the heart. _

On her days alone she had traveled back the ruins of the Death Star. Where she ultimately signed Ben’s death warrant with her own actions. She had somehow found his lightsaber--badly damaged as it was--the crystal was still intact.

_ And finally, Life’s essence. _

A chalice intricately carved with sith runes matching the ones painted on Rey’s skin sat on the final pedestal with a sharp knife next to it. She can’t help but laugh at the knife. It was the one she used to find the wayfinder.

Kalis’s voice filled the chamber. Rey looked up to the ceiling finding that there wasn’t one. A storm was brewing on the desolate planet. Rey approached the chalice and took the knife. She could feel her sister’s eyes on her. Rey cut her left hand and let the blood drain into the chalice. The runes on the chalice glowed a deep red, as did the room. The runes on her skin began to hurt and she could smell her flesh burning. 

_ No turning back now. _

Rey gritted her teeth as the burning runes blistered and scarred her forever. The storm got stronger; the clouds above flashed with lightning but no thunder followed.

She sensed someone behind her. Rey whipped around to find Kalis with her lightsaber lit and glowing red.

“Only death pays for life, my dear sister.” Kalis leveled her saber to Rey’s throat. “And I intend to buy back everything you stole.”

With lightning-quick speed Rey unsheathed her saber and ignited it; the yellow beam cutting through Kalis’s arm. Rey jumped back to dodge the still functioning saber and heard Kalis scream in agony. Rey prepared to swing again only to be held in place by an invisible hand. While Kalis was not skilled in swordplay but she did have immense control over the force. She could choke someone with just a look. Kalis laughed maniacally. 

“You truly are the spawn of that defected creature. Weak and good.” Kalis stepped closer. “Our sire truly cast me aside in favor of you?” 

Rey could feel the invisible hand tighten around her throat. 

“He manipulated that family for years to groom one for me,” Kalis said. “And then you come along and destroy everything! With your dyad.” 

Rey’s vision was starting to blur around the edges. She was paralyzed and if Kalis held true, Rey would be electrocuted any moment.

Rey thought of everything that led her to this moment. Grief for the one thing she always wanted but lost. Anger at herself and everyone that had anything to do with this. Revenge for Ben. Revenge for herself. She had found a kinship in the woman trying to kill her, but like all things in life nothing is free. Her vision flickered, but she was not ready to accept her fate.

Thunder echoed through the grand chamber and Rey felt a tug at something she had locked away. The threads of a forgotten bond fluttered in her soul. Hope. Hope is what led her here too. A hope that she could do the impossible and bring part of herself back to life. To bring balance and find peace. To do that, she had to choose herself.

Another clap of thunder reverberated around them and Rey attempted to break free of the bonds that held her. Slowly she tightened the grip around her lightsaber. Rey pushed through the Force to regain control and broke free aiming for Kalis’s head. Kalis dodged and maneuvered around her opponent, but she was sluggish and sloppy. Rey spun behind Kalis, dropped down and hamstrung her bringing her to her knees. Kalis bellowed out mournful wails and Rey reveled in her bloodlust. 

_ I chose myself. I chose what I wanted. _

Rey tried to reason with the beast within her and poised the fiery yellow blade over Kalis’s neck. She laughed loudly. 

“You can’t do it,” Kalis said.

_ She would show you no mercy. _

“You're right I can’t,” Rey said. “But as you said, death pays for life.”

Rey impaled her blade into Kalis’s spine all the way down to the hilt.

Lighting cracked through the chamber and hit the bacta tank. Rey had only a moment to gasp then was knocked back by a massive force and blinding light. She came to moments later, dreading her actions had been for nothing. All she saw was a shattered bacta tank and the naked body of Ben Solo on the ground. She rose on to wobbly legs and ran.

She attempted to lift his massive body to cradle him in her arms. In her distraught state, she couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Taking a few calming breaths and tearing off her cloak to cover him, she saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. A surge of relief flooded her; she felt years younger. She gave up her rigid posture and unclenched her jaw for what felt like the first time in years.

She couldn't help but feel deja vu at the scenario she found herself in. Holding her dyad as she had years ago. Rey desperately wanting him to wake up. She brushed back his wet hair and kissed his forehead.

“Be with me, my love,” she whispered.

Several moments passed then she felt his heartbeat quicken. His breathing became stronger and she could feel the threads of the bond stitch themselves back together. Ben’s eyes fluttered open. This moment was not like what she had dreamed of. His eyes were not soft and she did not see his smile. His eyes were scared and confused. Ben began to hyperventilate and tear himself away from her. Rey held him close and tried to calm him. 

“Ben, my love. It’s me. It’s Rey.” 

Her words did nothing to quell his panic. Rey placed a hand at the base of his skull and sent him into a deep sleep. He was alive and petrified. 

_ He is alive. _

Rey looked around the room at the remainder of the Sith cult. Many of them were injured in the ritual and many of them began to rouse. Nazra came running to her.

“Help me with him,” Rey commanded.

Nazra did and helped Rey better wrap Ben up in her cloak. Together they lifted him and carried him to her chambers. Rey couldn’t help but be elated.

_ He is alive. _

_ He is with me. _

_ I brought him home. _

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Visit me on Tumblr](https://sparkling-gems.tumblr.com/) and on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/StallingGem)


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